Beginner Can ride smooth, flat, or gently rolling dirt paths with no technical features. Comfortable braking and basic steering. Examples: paved paths, groomed gravel trails, wide dirt roads with minimal grade changes.

Beginner+ Handles easy singletrack with minor obstacles. Can navigate small roots, gentle berms, and slight descents without features. Developing brake control on moderate grades. Examples: flowy beginner singletrack, small rollers, gentle switchbacks, packed dirt with occasional roots or rocks.

Intermediate Rides most natural trail features with confidence. Can handle moderate climbs and descents, small drops (up to ~1 ft), rock gardens, and rooted sections at a controlled pace. Examples: natural singletrack with embedded rocks and roots, small tabletops, simple berms, modest wooden bridges.

Intermediate+ Tackles more committing terrain with growing confidence. Clears drops up to ~2 ft, rides technical switchbacks, and handles rooty/chunky lines. Beginning to read trail features and commit to them. Examples: larger rock gardens, drops with a small consequence, steeper natural descents, entry-level black trail features.

Advanced Comfortably rides black-rated trails and technical features. Handles drops 2–4 ft, steep chutes, tight technical switchbacks, exposed terrain, and black-diamond trail designations. Confident body positioning and line choice. Examples: black trails, gap jumps, steep loose descents, large rooted drops, advanced wooden features.

Advanced+ Rides double-black and expert-level terrain. Cleans large drops (4+ ft), big gap jumps, can handle very steep trails and high-consequence lines with good brake control, and complex technical sequences at speed. High commitment, precision, and consequence management. Examples: double-black trails, large sender drops, steep exposed chutes, pro-level bike park lines, major gap jumps.

All bike rentals include helmets if needed.

Sorry about that! Here is all the info from the tour:

Overview

The Kettle Crest in Republic, WA stands out as one of Washington's most underrated regions for mountain biking. The Crest's lack of renown is largely attributed to the remoteness of its rolling hills and mountains known as the "Okanagan highlands", located hours drive away from any town with populations greater than 2000. In our opinion, this is what makes this one of the most unique multi-day tour itineraries in the state.

The Kettle Crest Trail is a 44 miles section of the 1200 mile Pacific Northwest Scenic Trail (A.K.A the PNT), running along close to some of the highest peaks in the region's highlands. Though our time on the KCT proper will mainly be limited, it provides great access to some amazing descents off the east and west of the ridge.

We'll be repeatedly treated to sweeping views of the Cascades to the west, interior British Columbia mountains to the north, and the Idahoan Selkirk mountain range to the east, with rolling highland hills everywhere one looks in the foreground.

Join a Kettle Crest mountain bike tour and we will relish the peaceful solitude of this special region of Washington State as we ride miles upon miles of flowy backcountry multi-use trails.

Duration: 4 Days

Technical Level: Int/Adv

Base Fitness Level: 8 / 10

Tour Style: Camping or Hotels

Tour Size Minimum: 2

Fly In: Spokane, WA

Season: June – October

Rental Bikes: Salsa Blackthorn ($85/day)

Elevation: 3,300 – 6,500'

Note: This tour is designed for intermediate to advanced riders with strong fitness. Big days in the saddle at elevation require solid endurance and comfort on technical singletrack.

Itinerary

Day 1: Gibraltar

Our 4-day adventure kicks off with a peaceful and underappreciated gem of a cross-country ride: Gibraltar Trail. After a pretty, 20-minute drive from the town of Republic, we will immediately immerse ourselves in quiet pine forests, rolling hillsides, and miles of flowy backcountry trail.

The Gibraltar Trail is a perfect warm up for the rest of our trip - plenty of climbing but never overly punchy, primitive in spots, extremely rewarding with near-constant sweeping views of the surrounding highlands. The riding, while not overly technical, remains engaging and full of meditative pedaling and flow.

As we finish up our first ride of the trip, the crew's spirits will no doubt be high and prepared to step up the technical level for the remaining three days of shredding.

11.8 mi  ·  ±2,500' elev.

Day 2: Taylor Ridge

The second day will deliver us one of the crown jewels of the Kettle Crest region: Taylor Ridge. This day will involve a healthy share of climbing, so we'll start the day with a hearty breakfast at camp or in town, and we'll pack a filling lunch to eat along the way. For this ride we'll be executing a partial shuttle, so our uphill efforts will pay off doubly on the descent.

Upper Taylor Ridge is classic high-country riding: sub-alpine evergreens, rugged backcountry and singletrack with sweeping views of B.C. and Idaho. A large swath of the forest we will pass through today was burnt in a wildfire years ago, which means we will be treated to more extensive spring wildflowers as well as near-constant views.

We'll climb due south on the KCT for a few miles until we turn onto the beginning of the Taylor connector and climb east. When we hit around 5 miles since leaving the trailhead, we'll begin trending downhill for another 5 miles, where we'll reach the beginning of the highlight of the day: Lower Taylor Ridge.

Lower Taylor is the most dramatic descent of our trip, dropping more than 3,000' over 6 miles of primarily fast and smooth singletrack, climbing only 300' over the same distance. Fast and flowy, with small sections of mild tech to keep us on our toes, this will be a ride to remember!

After a cold drink at the van, we'll have the potential to shuttle back to the top of Lower Taylor for another lap, depending on the timing of our day.

18.6 mi  ·  +2,699 / -5,362' elev. (shuttle)

Day 3: Jungle Hill

On our third day we'll spend the most amount of time on the Kettle Crest proper of any day of the tour. However, this isn't the only highlight of Day 3, which features some of the funnest riding of the trip.

Similar to Day 2, we'll incorporate a mix of pedaling and shuttling, beginning our ride at Sherman Pass at an altitude of around 5,400'. The climbing, totaling around 2,000' over the duration of the day's ride, is not very sustained. After a 600' climb from the Sherman Pass trailhead, we'll have the option to hike-a-bike up a very steep trail to a lookout cabin atop Columbia Mountain, or continue on to a rolling section of the KCT.

After another 2 miles on the regular route, we will have our first descent of the day, which features fast speeds interspersed with some moderate tech. At the bottom of this descent we'll switch out our party pants for climbing ones, and climb the final 600', at the top of which lies our mission of the day: Jungle Hill.

Jungle Hill is a 3 mile, 2,300' descent with minimal climbing, fast speeds, beautiful views of picturesque highland wilderness, aspen groves, and hoots and hollers for days! Don't open your mouth too wide, though, as Jungle Hill is active grazing land and we'll be keeping our eyes peeled for "trail obstacles".

Upon finishing Jungle Hill's blissful descent and a refreshing beverage, we'll have the option to shuttle up for a bonus descent on Sherman Pass Trail if our legs and timing allow.

14 mi  ·  +2,600 / -4,800' elev.

Day 4: Midnight Ridge

The last ride of our trip will be a great send-off, featuring a local favorite trail Midnight Ridge. We'll try not to smell the barn just yet (despite the area's popularity with horse enthusiasts), as today's climb is not for the faint of legs. The total climbing sits at a manageable 2,300', but 2 miles in, the climbing grade becomes fairly unrelenting for the next 3.5 miles and 2,000'. A major silver lining is the stunning views we will be continually confronted with, culminating in a final majestic view to the west before we drop into the bliss that is Midnight Ridge.

Midnight Ridge is similar to some of the ripping downhills we've encountered so far in the trip, but what makes it especially unique are the huge Ponderosa stands on the lower half, the lush meadows underneath them, intersected by a brown ribbon of smooth singletrack.

Undoubtedly tired and satisfied, we'll say goodbye to our Kettle Crest adventure, with a new appreciation for Washington's amazing variety of riding regions and remote singletrack.

11 mi  ·  ±2,500' elev.

Price & Dates

Price & Dates

Pricing

  Camping Tour: $1,450/person

Gear rental available: +$150

  Hotel Tour: $2,900/person

Single occupancy room: +$450

  Rental Bike: $85/day

Deposit to book: $500

What's Included

• Lodging

• Meals

• Transportation

• DDT T-Shirt

• DDT Water Bottle

2026 Dates

June

• June 25–28

September

• Sept 17–20

Private

Interested in making your tour private? Call us at (360) 592-3930, or email info@digdeeptours.com.

Of course! While we hope you’ll be able to join us for every meticulously planned ride, we understand if you will have to sit one our. The itineraries on our epic MTB adventures include a whole lot of riding, and one can only dig so deep.